EMS agencies continue to struggle to make ends meet. The cost of EMS patient care continues to rise, while ambulance reimbursement rates continue to disappoint. In addition, Federal and state regulations continue to multiply. When payers and regulators fail to see the immense value EMS brings to healthcare, economical solutions can be hard to find.

This post, the ninth in a 10-post series, highlights another EMS best practice intended to help your agency keep its footing by increasing efficiency and improving revenue

Every EMS transport uses resources, but not every transport yields payment. The longer an account goes without payment, the less likely payment becomes. Monitor, standardize and optimize your accounts receivable processing to reduce payment loss and improve cash flow.

Create reports of all outstanding receivables and track them daily, weekly and monthly. Organize accounts according to logical billing workflows, such as geography or insurer, and assign an EMS billing specialist to each group of accounts as a point person. Outline the entire EMS accounts receivable process and standardize all communications sent to payers. Create templates to save billers’ time and ensure consistent, quality messaging. Your EMS billing software should prompt the appropriate point person when they should send a specific communication or take the next step.

You can’t forecast cash flow accurately without understanding the delays between billing and payment. Segment and analyze accounts to better understand causes of delay. Does payment vary by insurer? Does it vary by type of claim? Are there particular run characteristics that can alert you to delays, so you can get on top of them early? Develop benchmarks that enable you to forecast cash flow with increasing accuracy.

Want to see all 10 EMS best practices?

Download our eBook, Ten Best Practices to Optimize EMS Workflow, to gain nine more best practices that will help you revitalize your organization, increase efficiency, and improve revenue. It includes concrete actions that you can take to streamline dispatch, simplify patient care reporting, and improve EMS billing to maximize reimbursement.